I am Filipino and was raised in the Philippines. My parents are not educated, they did not finish any level in elementary, but I am thankful to God because most importantly, they are Christians. I am thankful to God because when we were still young, they did their best to provide our needs to go to school and always told us to attend church every Sunday. I have six siblings and all of us grew together in children Sunday School.

Growing up in Sunday school with other kids is one of the happiest thing that happened in my life. I enjoyed listening to Bible stories told by teachers at church. I always heard about salvation to the point that I even memorized the “pattern” of salvation that if you accept Jesus in your heart you will go to heaven. But in my heart, I did not understand.

One Sunday morning at church, my pastor asked who wanted to be baptized. I saw my two friends raise their hands. Seeing that, I also wanted to be baptized like them, so after the service, I talked to my mom and asked her if I could also be baptized. I thought that when I get baptized, I will surely go to heaven. I tried my best to be good, obedient and do what Christians do in church. I also taught kids when there were no available teachers to teach them. If anyone asked me if I was saved, I said yes because I was baptized, I was a good person, and I obeyed my parents and my pastor and that’s why I’m going to heaven.

Although I knew that a saved person will go to heaven, personally in my heart, I never professed to the Lord. I thought that baptism and obedience are the qualifications to go to heaven. I only thought I was saved. Until one evening while at church as we were starting on our discipleship lesson, our disciple leader asked a question, “What is baptism?” and I said baptism is the first step to be saved. Our leader in the discipleship explained to us according to the Bible that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved, no matter how good and obedient I was, even though I was baptized, those things were nothing if I didn’t trust Jesus Christ and what He has done on the cross of Calvary where he died for me. That made me realize that I was not yet saved. I was still lost. I realized baptism is not the way of salvation. That night our leader led us in a sinner’s prayer and finally, I truly prayed in my heart. That night, I really wanted to be sure that I am saved and I asked the Lord to save me, I repented of my sins and opened my heart to Him and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Savior of my life.

I am thankful to God for revealing the truth to me and saving me. Now I have the assurance and peace from God that I am saved by grace. Ephesians 2:8 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

When I was in my junior year of high school, I wanted to study in Bible college because I was inspired by my pastor’s daughter who loved children and taught them God’s Word. But then I saw the hardships of my pastor’s family being in the ministry. So after I graduated high school, I went to a secular college, but I realized I didn’t like what I was doing and I didn’t have joy. I felt that I was in a different world. I realized that God has another plan in my life and I can’t run away from Him. He wants me to serve Him in full-time ministry. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enable me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry (1 Timothy 1:12).

I enrolled at Berean Baptist Theological College in Tuguegarao City, Philippines in 2014. I praise the Lord for the opportunities to serve Him. While studying, I was able to involved in different ministries especially in children ministry and youth ministry. I was not able to finish my studies in the Philippines as the Lord opened the door for me to come to the United States to study and be trained at Marietta Bible College in Marietta, Ohio in 2017, under the leadership of Dr. Myron Guiler. I am so grateful to God for the privilege to learn and to be trained in a school that produced men and women that surrendered their lives to missionaries and teachers who teach the truth of the Gospel.

I am thankful to God for using my life in different ways to serve Him. While studying in Bible college in the Philippines, I was a church worker in our church and was in-charge of the Children Ministries. Every Sunday morning, I brought children from their homes to church and taught them the word of God.

God opened an opportunity for me to start children centers in other villages where we gathered children and taught them the Word of God. Every weekend, I was able to teach them Bible stories and songs that praise the Lord and also share Jesus’ love for them. I praise the Lord for the blessing to see many children open their hearts and minds to the Word of God and many came to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aside from children centers, I also had the privilege in helping other churches during their Vacation Bible School (VBS) and also youth camps.

All glory to God, those children that I taught before continued in serving Him and are now teachers in our Children Sunday School of our church. God has given them also the opportunities to start their own children centers in more villages in our town. I praise and thank the Lord for what He has done in the life of these girls and their willingness to use their lives for God’s ministry. I Corinthians 15:58 says, “...your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Studying at Marietta Bible College is one of the great blessings that God has given for me. Being away from family in the Philippines is hard, but I appreciate Him more everyday because I see how He works in my life, for providing my needs, giving me strength, courage and boldness to do His ministry. I’ve learned how to depend on Him more and more.

Before the pandemic, fellow students and I were able to minister in nursing homes, but due to many restrictions, we are not allowed to go, as well as do bus routes and do visitation as we usually did to minister to the people. But the work of God cannot be stopped. We still find ways to tell people about Christ by singing online and encouraging people in this time of crisis.

Before Thanksgiving and Christmas, we were also able to pack Bibles, gospel tracts and masks and distributed them to the people in the streets and stop lights to help them not just physically but also with their spiritual life.